A new twist on an old favorite

I was searching for our many many, many posts on brie bites - is it possible we don't have any?! How has this tragedy happened, because I know they are made often.

Last night I reverted back to the complete baked brie - and not the bites. I was attending a "Scotch Night", that has become an end of semester tradition for the Cognitive Psychology PhD students at UT, and brie seemed like the perfect accompaniment to scotch. It's actually very simple. One wheel of brie. A few sheets of thawed phyllo dough. Some kind of jam/jelly. A little melted butter. Done. I'm partial to putting apricot preserves on the brie, I'm not sure why. I think apricot is a nice flavor with the cheese, it adds a little sweet, but can also be very savory. Last night when I opened the fridge to pull out the cheese and preserves I spied a package of fresh rosemary, and the wheels began turning. I chopped up some of that fresh rosemary, and mixed it into the preserves. And, this was maybe the best choice I've made all week! Delicious!

Slacker!

So let's see, it's already Thursday. First of all, how did that happen? I don't think Week 5 is happening this week unless it's on Sunday, which I consider to be the official start to Week 6 but maybe that's just me! My excuse? I've been busy and poor, waiting desperately for my paycheck! (I only wish my excuse were that I was busy training for and running in a half marathon, like some OTHER person that I'm so jealous of!) I'll try to make up for it with two new recipes next week, though I already know that neither of them will be for Thanksgiving. My family has requested an old recipe of mine for Pumpkin Cheesecake! I'll have some time on my hands though the rest of next weekend so I'm sure I'll get to a couple newbies for a lunch or dinner.

Week 4 (Mel): Pumpkin Muffins

This recipe comes to you courtesy of Betty Crocker. It's so easy and delicious that I made it once on Thursday and then twice on Sunday. I was going to a friend's house for brunch on Sunday and wanted to try this recipe out before-hand. That was why I made them on Thursday. After trying them, I decided what changes I wanted to make and made a fresh batch for my friends on Sunday morning. Well I left my friend with the extras of course so I had to make an additional batch on Sunday afternoon to have for myself this week! So here's the recipe, as written. I'll indicate my changes below it.

Pumpkin Muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg
1/2 cup raisins

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease bottoms of 12 medium muffin cups. Mix all ingredients just until flour is moistened. Batter should be lumpy. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon sugar over batter in each cup. Bake 18 to 20 minutes. Immediately remove from pan.

Mel's Variation: I used 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour. I didn't like the taste of the nutmeg and didn't think there should be equal amounts of nutmeg and cinnamon, so I kept the nutmeg amount the same and did more like 3/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. The first time I made these, they only made 11 muffins. I also thought the taste of the pumpkin could be stronger, so the second and third times, I used more pumpkin puree. . . maybe an extra tablespoon and a half. It was a rounded 1/2 cup anyway. Lastly, I think it was more like 1/8 teaspoon of sugar that I sprinkled on top of each muffin before baking. I looked at 1/4 teaspoon and it just looked like too much.

For the future, I'm thinking of experimenting more and maybe using half the amount of butter and adding 2 tablespoons of canola oil or applesauce.

Week 3 (Jenni): Veggie Burgers and Sweet Potato Fries

This week's new recipe comes from a book my mom bought for me as a house warming present. Well, and part came from Sandra Lee.

I used my roommates grater for the carrots and zucchini, it was super easy and lots of fun. I'm realizing how much easier a food processor would make things. The recipe indicates that the food processor would have done the job in ~25 seconds. It took me nearly 25 minutes to get everything through my make-shift processor. When I was done though, it looked so yummy. My mixture was a little sticky, I feared stacking the patties on the plate, so I wrapped them each individually. I'm likely going to freeze most of them, to eat later! I cooked up a burger, and topped it with some blue cheese, it was amazing! The sweet potato fries were quick and easy, and very tasty. I used my favorite season-all seasoning to flavor them, and just let them bake for about 30 minutes.

All in all, a totally delicious Sunday evening meal.

Veggie Burgers
4 Tbsp evoo
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 large carrots, grated
2 medium zucchini, grated
1 16-ounce can of garbanzo beans, drained
1 Tbsp crunchy natural peanut butter
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat bread crumbs
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp curry powder*
1 tsp mixed herbs*
1 egg, beaten


Heat 2 Tbsp of oil in a large skillet. Add the onion, garlic, carrot, and zucchini, and saute about 5 minutes, until softened. Take off heat, and set aside.

Place garbanzo beans, peanut butter, breadcrumbs, parsley, curry powder, mixed herbs, and egg in a food processor.*** Process for about 20 seconds, or until garbanzo beans are broken up and all ingredients combined. Add the onion mixture and process for another 5 seconds - do not overprocess.

Form 8 patties, and place them in the fridge for 30 minutes. To cook, heat 2 Tbsp of evoo in a skillet, and cook about 4 minutes on each side.


*I did not have curry powder, I used some mixture of creole seasoning instead.
**I did not have mixed herbs, persay, so I used a dash each of oregano, dill weed, rosemary, thyme
***I do not have a food processor, so I cycled everything through my immersion blender/chopped apparatus. It was tedious and long. A food processor would have been easier.

Week 3 (Mel): Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad

This is definitely a plan-ahead kind of meal. With a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper, and sugar to caramelize, these tomatoes roasted up quite nicely! They did take two hours in the oven, but let me tell you, it was totally worth it. I'm eager to try this recipe again with maybe other vegetables too. Mmmmmm!!! I don't think I've ever tasted tomatoes like this before. It was just delicious!

So as you can see in the recipe, all you do after the tomatoes are done is let them cool, add the cheese and basil, drizzle with olive oil, shake on a little salt and pepper, and you're all set to dig in and enjoy! I had it for dinner with some left-over mashed potatoes with peas. Oh Ina, you almost never disappoint me! Yes, ALMOST never. . . I wasn't too impressed with her Roasted Potato Leek Soup but hey, no one's perfect. I've forgiven her.

Enjoy the salad! I sure did!

Tombstones, Spiderwebs, and Mummies, Oh My!

Happy Halloween!

Oops!

Halloween Cookies!

Well these turned out MUCH better than the soup I made earlier in the week! There's been a couple of Fridays now at work where I've brought in baked goods. I think both times it was brownies. . . anyway, earlier this week, one of my students said to me, "So Melanie, I was thinking, since Halloween is on Saturday you should maybe make some kind of Halloween treat for us on Friday!" Because I really like this student, I said, Yeah, okay, why not. While you can go all kinds of crazy with Halloween baking (see Jenni's future post that I'm already jealous of!) I decided that for a weekday thing, for just my students, I would go for something easy that makes a lot: COOKIES!

My initial thought was chocolate cookies with orange and brown M&Ms. I didn't see any orange and brown M&Ms at the grocery store though. What I DID see however was Reese's Pieces, and since those are already Halloween colors, I bought them. After all, chocolate and peanut butter together is NEVER a bad idea.

I found this decadent recipe online for Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies and substituted 1 1/2 cups Reese's pieces for the 2 cups of chocolate chips, and I didn't use any of the optional walnuts. The only slight snafu was that the dough was really thick. I made it in my stand mixer and decided when it came time to add the candy at the end that I would just toss them in there as well. Luckily I only started with one cup. I added them in, put the mixer on the lowest setting, "stir," and they got crushed! Of course this wouldn't effect the flavor but I wanted to see the orange and yellow in the dark cookie. So I mixed the remaining half cup by hand. Also, I ran out of Hershey's cocoa powder but luckily had Ghirardelli cocoa on hand as well. The Ghirardelli is Dutch Processed unsweetened cocoa, which is darker and richer than the regular kind (I think I wanted it for a marble cake and/or chocolate ice cream at some point and that's why I had it). I can't say I wouldn't use the Ghirardelli next time as well! Boy is it good.

To say that these cookies are delicious would be an understatement. And having them warm out of the oven? CHOCOLATE AND PEANUT BUTTER HEAVEN!!! :)

Week 2 (Mel): Tortilla and Butternut Squash Soup

I SO happily received a copy of New England Soup Factory's cookbook for Christmas last year but (probably because I have too many cookbooks) hadn't made anything from it until this week. Scott and I both thought this particular recipe looked delicious so I gave it a try.

I had some time Monday morning so I decided to go all out, Rachael Ray style. I bought my groceries AND prepped the vegetables when I got home from the market. When I got home from work, I opened the fridge, grabbed everything I needed in one trip without dropping anything (just kidding), and started cooking it up. It smelled *really* good. I loved that there was cheese, cilantro, and lime juice in the soup. And scallions!!! Mmmm!!! In the end, I liked it, and even had two bowls. There's so much left over though and it was also just so different that it's not something I'm craving more of. Scott didn't like it at all, so now neither of us are going to eat the left-overs. I'm still glad I tried it. As you'll see below, it calls for 8oz of tortilla chips. I bought baked tortilla chips, feeling guilty about the calories, and 7oz ended up being a whole bag! I guess I wasn't expecting that. So maybe if I had used a better-tasting chip the overall soup would've been better, but I still don't know. Also, I don't think the flavor of the butternut squash was at pungent as I thought it would be, given it's in the title and all. Maybe make half the recipe yourself if you want to give it a try (though you probably don't if you're reading any of this!) because I'd be interesting in getting someone else's opinion on it. It stinks though, because it's a recipe from one of my favorite restaurants. Their soups never disappoint me! Eh, anyway, here you go:

Tortilla and Butternut Squash Soup
Makes 12 to 14 servings

3 Tbs. salted butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups diced onion
3 carrots, sliced
3 ribs celery, sliced
1 lb butternut squash, peeled and diced
12 cups chicken stock (I used veg. of course)
1 cup sherry
8 oz. salted tortilla chips
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
2 cups shredded Montery Jack cheese
1 can (4oz) diced green chilies
1 bunch scallions, sliced
2 Tbs. freshly squeezed lime juice
8 dashes green Tabasco sauce (I used red)
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a large stockpot melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, onions, carrots, celery, and butternut squash. Saute for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the stock and sherry. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the squash is soft and tender, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the tortilla chips until wilted. Add the cilantro and cheese and let the cheese melt into the soup. Puree the soup in the pot using a hand blender or working in batches with a regular blender until completely smooth. Add the chilies and scallions. Stir to combine. Season with lime juice, Tabasco sauce, and black pepper. Return to the stove and summer an additional 5 minutes.

Week 2 (Jenni): Spiced Lentil Tacos

Week Two of this challenge was much better than Week One! This recipe is great, and I have been excited about it since it arrived in my inbox two weeks ago. Yes, I got this recipe in my inbox, from SELF magazine.

After a full day of playing housewife - no seriously, I sat and waited for the plumber to fix our hot water, I re-potted some plants, did the dishes, made 2 dozen cupcakes - I cooked dinner and had it ready mostly in time for my hungry family to return from a hard day at work. I also re-wrote a section of my grant application. Spread the word - I'm quite a catch!

But, back to the Recipe Challenge. This was relatively easy, and also my first time cooking with lentils. I think I should have simmered them longer, but I forgot to set a timer (the cupcakes needed attention and the plumber needed to be paid at the same time the lentils began simmering, and I became momentarily overwhelmed!) I was unable to mash them as described in the recipe, so we just left them whole. Rave reviews from the whole lot of us as we had our "family dinner" on the couch in front of Grey's Anatomy. Somehow I think Ryan and Chelsea might be enjoying this challenge more than anyone!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup dried brown lentils, rinsed
• 1 package (2.25 oz) taco seasoning
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
• 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, finely chopped (use half for less heat)**
• 2 teaspoons adobo sauce**
• 8 taco shells
• 1 1/4 cups shredded lettuce
• 1 cup chopped tomato
• 1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat (2 percent) cheddar

Preparation

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook onion, garlic and salt until onion begins to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add lentils and taco seasoning. Cook until spices are fragrant and lentils are dry, about 1 minute. Add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until lentils are tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Mix sour cream, chile and adobo sauce in a bowl. Uncover lentils and cook until mixture thickens, 6 to 8 minutes. Mash with a rubber spatula. Spoon 1/4 cup lentil mixture into each taco shell. Top with 2 heaping tsp sour cream mixture, lettuce, tomato and cheese.

**I did not use a chipotle chile and adobo sauce, instead I used regular salsa and mixed that with the sour cream. It was an ingredient we had, and pretty darn tasty if you ask me!

Week 1 (Jenni): Farfalle with Zucchini, Yellow Squash, and Mint

I got this recipe from a book that I found on our shelf. I thought it was my roommates cookbook, but she says it's mine. I'm not sure. I decided on a pasta dish, as I needed to "carbo-load" in preparation for the 12 mile run I did on Saturday. I found this recipe and it sounded interesting. It wasn't actually as good as I thought it would be, I think the ratio of pasta-to-vegetables was too heavily weighted toward the pasta. Also, there wasn't much flavor infused into much of the dish. That said, I had leftovers the following day, and they were much better. The mint flavors were much more noticeable. So, perhaps this is a much better prepare-ahead meal.

12 ounces of Farfalle (I used elbows)
1 Tablespoon EVOO
1 Scallion, trimmed (I used about 3 or 4!)
1/2 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 small zucchinis, very thinnly sliced
1 small yellow squash, very thinnly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 Tablespoon minced fresh mint leaves (I used 2 tbsp)
1 Tablespoon grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano, plus more for topping. (I used more!)

1. Cook pasta, save 1 cup of boiling pasta water before straining.
2. heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add scallion and garlic, cook for 2 minutes. Add zucchini and Squash and cook until just wilted, about 3 minutes.
3. toss pasta with vegetables and stir in basil, mint, cooking water, and cheese.

Week 1 (Mel): Sour Cream Coffee Cake

This recipe came from my favorite chef, Ina. Now it's not every Monday evening that I decide to whip up a cake (though I SHOULD. . . wouldn't that make Mondays so much better???) but I had a special occasion coming up Tuesday morning. I was getting together with two old friends from high school -- one who I haven't seen SINCE high school and the other since our five-year reunion. So this was like our eleventh year reunion, which wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for the magic of everyone's favorite, F*cebook. Well back to the cake, it's certainly not low-fat, but it IS indeed absolutely delicious! The only snafu I came across was not having a tube pan. I didn't think it would make a difference since I DID have a bundt pan. So after the cake was in the oven, I was thinking about it, and it dawned on me that the "top" of the cake (which was really going to be the bottom because of the design of the pan) is where I was suppose to sprinkle most of the streusel -- and I did. Except after it's cooled, you invert the cake of course when you take it out of the pan, and then drizzle the TOP with a galze. . . the TOP being ON top of the streusel. So now I had the streusel on the bottom and the glaze on the top. I decided to just go with it, slice it up, and not actually serve it as a whole cake but rather in pre-cut pieces to distract the eye. I think it worked.

But now I ask you, does this really mean I have to buy a tube pan or could I next time put the top layer of streusel on the bottom of the pan? Will that make it less crunchy since it will have cake batter on top of it while baking? What would you do?

something out of nothing

One of the best things that has come from moving into a house with two great roommates, is the company to eat dinner with. Most nights we eat together. Sometimes not the same thing, but we eat at the same time, and it's fun! A few nights a week we'll either all cook something, or one of us cooks something for everyone.

A special bonus is that one of my roommates in particular is always quite pleased to just throw whatever random ingredients we have into a pot and hope it comes out delicious. On Sunday, we had some guacamole and pineapple salsa left over from a study session I hosted, and so it appeared that Mexican was on the docket for the evening. She suggested quesadillas, and who was I to protest? Quesadillas it was - but with what vegetables? We had...yellow squash. So, yellow squash quesadillas with guacamole and pineapple salsa it was. And, they were delicious.

Similarly, last night I had some peppers that needed to be used - best way to deal with that, stuffed peppers. I used to stuff them with ground turkey, but in my less meaty phase I've also stuffed them with white beans, tomatoes and lemon peel. I had none of that last night. So, we did up some brown rice, black beans, taco seasonings, chopped grape tomatoes and topped each one off with some shredded mozzerella.

I must say, using whatever we have on hand has been working out quite nicely for us!

This however, does not count as my Recipe Challenge 2009 - stay tuned for that adventure tonight.

Recipe Challenge 2009

By the looks of this blog, we need a shake up around here. Sadly, it's not just my blog-posting that's been lacking, but my kitchen is growing cobwebs as well.* So here it is, a blog challenge. I pledge to try a new recipe once a week, and write about it here, from now until Thanksgiving. It feels like a big undertaking - but I think I'm ready for it. I challenge you to do the same.

I plan to start next week, October 18th. Stay tuned....


* There are, in fact, no cobwebs in my kitchen - it is very clean. I was merely trying to make a point that I haven't done much cooking lately.

The Incredible Hulk

I know all of us have a lot of cookbooks. When I moved last month, I had to weed out some of them because they just weren't all necessary. I kept one book around that I had never used, but always wanted to. It's called Super Smoothies. All of the smoothies sound delicious, but I guess I just don't usually think to use a recipe when making a smoothie because it seems kind of silly. I was flipping through this book over the weekend though, in my seemingly endless search for a healthy, filling, quick breakfast, and found one that sounded interesting. It wasn't even that original or with anything I wouldn't have thought of myself, but anyway, I gave it a try. . . and it's absolutely delicious. You HAVE to try it. Seriously. Do it. And don't worry, it's not green.

The Incredible Hulk

1/2 cup silken tofu
3/4 cup low-fat milk (I use original or vanilla, enriched rice milk because that's what I have around for cereal and, well, I've never really liked milk!)
2 Tbs. peanut butter (my favorite brand is Teddie)
2 frozen bananas, sliced (I peel them and just break them in half before freezing -- my blender is pretty solid and can handle them in large-ish pieces)
1 tsp. honey

Combine the tofu and milk in a blender. Add the remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth.

Makes about 2 1/2 cups; serves 2


They also give a whole slew of nutritional information. . . here's my condensed version:
(Per serving) calories: 287; total fat: 12 g; saturated fat: 3 g; fiber: 4 g; protein: 11 g

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

I think that peanut butter and chocolate might be the worlds most perfect combination. I mean, seriously. Name something that works together as well as these two...

Tonight, I created this chocolate peanut butter pie, without a recipe, using only my shear will to devour something delicious. Here's the recipe that resulted:

about half a package of Nilla Wafers, crushed fine
1/4 cup of butter
1/3 cup of peanut butter
16 oz. milk chocolate
1 container of Cool Whip

Melt butter and peanut butter over medium heat. Add to finely crushed Nilla wafers and mix well. Press into bottom and sides of pie plate (I used my springform pan). Cook in 375 degree oven for 10 minutes. Remove and cool to room temp.

On top of double boiler melt milk chocolate. Add to thawed Cool Whip and combine well (I didn't let the cool whip thaw completely, and when I added the hot chocolate it all went awry, so then I threw the mixture back into the top of the double boiler and melted it all together!) Spread chocolate into crust and chill, uncovered, at least one hour. (Once chilled you can cover it, but if it's warm when you put it in the fridge don't cover it or it'll rain all over your pie).

All I can say is....YUM-O!

Le French Toast

The thing about french toast is, I love it but I hate it. I like it at most restaurants, but most attempts at home-made I can't stand. The problem lies in the eggs. I'll let y'all in on a little secret - I was an extremely picky eater as a child. I mean, bad. If it wasn't Mac 'n Cheese, PB&J and maybe the occasional apple, I wasn't interested. My food couldn't touch my other food, and sauces - fawgitabowtit! So, to say my tastes have matured is an understatement. I'd like to think I'm not "picky" now, so much as - there are distinct things I don't like, for distinct, vocalizable reasons. For instance, I still like to dip into sauces/dressings, etc. rather than pour them on. And I still hate seafood, no matter how many ways I've tried it. And, well, eggs. I can't stand them. Omlettes, scrambled, over easy, under hard, whatever else the choices may be - I just can't stand them. It makes me feel icky just thinking about the way all of those things would taste. Which brings me to my problems with french toast. Cooked the wrong way, it runs the risk of tasting like cooked egg on bread. When done right, it's a melty deliciousness that I can't get enough of.

I don't know what came over me tonight, but, without so much as a recipe I made myself french toast for dinner. And, for the first time ever, it came out great. I used some honey whole grain bread, complete with nuts in the bread (Mom, are you reading this - NUTS. In the bread! And let me say, this was the bread from my cupboard, as in, I've been making my sandwiches with this bread!) I took two eggs, a cup of milk, a tsp of cinnamon and a tsp of vanilla and whisked it up good. Then I poured the mixture onto a large plate (my plates have quite a lip, so there was no spillage). I took each slice of bread and I dipped it quickly into the mixture, flipping it once, to coat both sides. Then I set it out on a wire rack to drip out a bit*. I pre-heated my griddle pan, and melted about a tablespoon of butter on it. I kept the burner heat at medium*, and put on the first four slices of bread. I allowed the first side to sizzle a little, and flipped them quickly. Then I let them cook a little longer and slower on each side. Once they were done, I kicked up the heat a touch to brown them, and then put them on a cookie sheet that was already in my just-warm oven. I repeated with the next set of slices.

Viola, there was no egg-y taste at all. I topped them with some warmed up strawberry preserves, powdered sugar, and pure maple syrup (a gift brought to me from Canada!) It was a perfect Easter dinner!

*I think these are the key steps that made the difference.

when nerds decorate cakes...

Here it is, our second guest submission. This is from a my friend VC, and the text is her own description. My conclusion, dear VC, is that you guys are awesome as hell. (and, totally hot, if I might add!)


"it was my advisor's birthday today, and we decided to up the nerd-
factor by taking advantage of the following un-funny items:

1. a carrot cake in honor of CARET imaging analysis software
2. red-hots to represent cortical activation
3. a mars bar in honor of MarsBaR timecourse analysis software (now!
with timecourses drawn in icing!)

in conclusion: we are lame as hell."

The big spaghetti bowl in the sky

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, might I recommend you read this first.

This is the finished result of the cake I made earlier this month for a friend of mine. I apologize for the delay of posting the conclusion. First, let's discuss the new recipe. I'd try it again, and change something - although I don't know what yet. It tasted alright, but it was a little drier than I'd have wanted. But, it was just the right amount of sweet, not too much really, and it went well with all the sweetness in the frosting.

As for the decorating - why do I always fight with red. I used the gel this time. And still, it was pink. I hate red. I hate it. And why do I always fight with decorator's icing? It was too soft, too runny, you can tell I had trouble with the dots. I was less than impressed with myself.

I made the spaghetti monster out of homemade fondant, which was basically melted marshmallows, and it was fun and pretty easy. I'd recommend it again.

In all, because the spaghetti monster is just so cool, I think it was a success. But, damn the red!! Damn the red!

I want more breakfast!

So I was watching the Food Network yesterday (what else is new) and in an attempt to find a healthy, grab-n-go breakfast option for Scott, I turned to Ellie Krieger. She had a whole breakfast show on yesterday, so it was both entertaining and educational. I watched her make these Walnut and Dried Cherry Bars and thought, That looks pretty darn good! I knew though in my own breakfast bars that I had envisioned making that they had to include peanut butter. Mmm, peanut butter. . . I also prefer pecans over walnuts for most recipes, and can't STAND cherry anything. So, here's Ellie's recipe below, with my own changes in italics:

Walnut and Dried Cherry Bars

Ingredients

• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour or regular whole-wheat flour
• 1/4 cup toasted wheat germ -- 1/4 cup toasted oat bran, because that's what I had!
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup honey -- 1/4 cup honey and a little less than 1/4 cup agave nectar, because I ran out of honey. . .
• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter (mine is 365 brand with just peanuts and salt)
  
• 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 egg, beaten to mix
• 1 egg white
• 3/4 cup chopped dried tart cherries -- 3/4 cup raisins
  
• 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts -- 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
  
• Cooking spray
• 1/4 cup "fruit only" apricot preserves

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, wheat germ/oat bran, cinnamon and salt.

In another bowl, whisk together the honey, peanut butter, applesauce, oil, egg and egg white until well combined. Stir in the oatmeal mixture until well combined. Add the dried cherries/raisins and walnuts/pecans.

Coat an 8-inch square baking pan (I used a 9" because I increased the amount of batter with the peanut butter) with cooking spray. Spread the mixture into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Put the preserves in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. As soon as the bars come out of the oven, brush with the preserves. Cool completely and cut into 12 bars, about 4 by1 1/2 inches each.

Per Serving

Calories 230; Total Fat 9 g; (Sat Fat 1 g, Mono Fat 3 g, Poly Fat 4 g) ; Protein 4 g; Carb 34 g; Fiber 2 g; Cholesterol 20 mg; Sodium 60 mg

Excellent source of: Manganese

Good source of: Thiamin

Of course I'm not sure the above nutritional information is correct anymore, but let me tell you, these bars are freakin' DELICIOUS! I'm totally addicted to them. So whether it's for breakfast, a snack, or even dessert, I highly recommend making them. The only question is what to call them since they're clearly not Walnut and Dried Cherry Bars anymore. . . Peacan Peanut Butter Goodness? Oh My God I Can't Stop Eating Them Bars? Anyway, just make them. How can you not?!

Gifted

A friend of mine has a birthday coming up, and this can't come at a better time because, 1.) this blog needs something new and 2.) my stress levels have reached a dangerous high that perhaps even baking for others can't overcome. But, try I will. I have a vision, but for top-birthday-secrecy, I will not publish said vision here until it's all done.

Last night was baking night, and let me tell you, I needed it. For this particular cake I was using a brand new (...er, old) recipe. My BirthdayFriend recently lost his grandmother, and when he was home with family after her passing he was thoughtful enough to bring back an old baking cookbook for me. I decided that I would make one of those recipes for this cake! BirthdayFriend requested chocolate, so off I went. I settled on one entitled Sweet Chocolate Cake. (As a side note, this cookbook has some really strange recipes that I'm totally interested to try - a sauerkraut cake?! Really?!) The Sweet Chocolate Cake recipe was interesting because the author noted that she liked using brown sugar. The recipe said it would fill 3 8-inch rounds, which seemed ok because, for the cake in my mind, I needed 2 8-inch rounds and a little something left over. I would need to use my spherical ball cake pan for the left over - as I needed something spherical to add to the cake.

Sweet Chocolate Cake
4 oz. sweet baking chocolate
1/2 cup boiling water
1 cup butter
2 cups white or brown sugar*
4 eggs, separated
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups of cake flour, sifted
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk**
(all ingredients at room temp, except for the boiling water...which is, of course, boiling)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and grease and flour 3 8-inch round pans. Melt the chocolate in the boiling water, and set aside to cool. Cream the butter, and gradually add the sugar. Add in the egg yolks and vanilla, and combine until smooth. Carefully add the cooled chocolate, and mix until well combined. Add in the sifted dry ingredients and the buttermilk in alternating batches, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Stiffly beat the egg whites and fold into the batter. Pour into pans, about 3/4 full. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

*I used one cup of each, the author was excited about the brown, but I was nervous about 2 cups of it!
**for which I used dried buttermilk (Saco brand, thanks LeahPants!)

I was excited, more than just to be baking again, because I could use something else I was given for Christmas. My mom gave me Wilton Bake Even strips, that make the cakes bake even so you don't have to level them. I have NO IDEA how they work. You first saturate them in water, then you wrap it around the outside of the pan, with the aluminum looking side facing out. You pin it closed, and just bake as normal. I was so excited to try these, it matches the first time I ever used the mechanical pastry bag (and you know how well that turned out!)

It was about here that I got carried away with my new baking gear (see, it HAS been a while since I've baked!!) Also for Christmas, my dad had given me these teeny tiny mini pans. Two tube pans and a springform. Adorable. So with the batter left over from filling my two 8-inch rounds, complete with Bake Even strips, I filled the mini pans from my dad.

It all went into the oven for 30 minutes. And then I realized. The SPHERICAL PAN! I had forgotten. In the glory of using all of my new gifts I had lost sight of the task at hand - BirthdayFriend's cake. So, later this week I will be "sculpting" spherical forms from the mini tube pan cakes!

When the cakes were done I was amazed, they were indeed level. I will not need to trim them - which is fabulous, because I am awful at that part. And, I ate some from the springform pan, it was good. The brown sugar was a good idea, although, I'm not sure I'd have done the full 2 cups.

The cakes are now carefully wrapped and in the freezer, waiting for decorating day!

A Breakfast of Champions

With Jenni's big event next weekend in mind, I thought it was about time that I posted something about my latest breakfast creation.

I'm not a big fan of breakfast. It's been hard for me to find something I like other than toast. Toast is great and all, but all of the fat and calories from the "butter" I use (the vegan butter spread, Earth Balance) is still not ideal. I always have a piece of fruit to go with it, to make myself feel better I suppose. It's just too cold (especially in the morning) to eat cereal, so I thought I would try my hands at homemade oatmeal.

I've tried to make oatmeal in the past and I usually either force it down so I don't waste it (telling myself, It's healthy! Just eat it!) or if it's really bad, I do have to unfortunately throw it out. It took me about a week of making oatmeal every day to come up with the perfect formula, but I did it, and can now say that I make GREAT oatmeal. Don't worry, I'll share my secrets with you. What you want to do is replace the recommended water they instruct you cook it in on the package with HALF apple juice and HALF vanilla soy milk (which is naturally sweetened, unlike chocolate soy milk!) The result? Oatmeal that is perfectly sweet, still creamy, and delicious! I always cook the oatmeal with a few shakes of cinnamon too, some kind of fruit (blueberries might be my favorite) and sometimes a small handful of chopped walnuts. I also tried both the instant oats as well as the old fashioned, and I prefer the instant because it comes out creamier.

Perhaps this is one to try before, say, running a half marathon? I personally think it's great before teaching a bunch of dance classes, but maybe that's just me ;)

Quesadilla

My lunch this afternoon was a creation made out of desperation - a desperate need to go grocery shopping that is. I opened my fridge and decided what few things I had in there needed to be eaten before they went bad. Things I had to choose from: colby jack shredded cheese, chicken I had cooked a few days ago, half an avocado, strawberry jelly, cream cheese, tortillas, frozen peas, 5 frozen bananas (waiting to become muffins, bread, smoothie...something), brown rice and black beans in the cupboard. The options seemed slim, but the choice obvious. I chopped up the chicken - which I had marinaded and cooked with some Stubb's marinade that I was given at Christmas. I sprinkled the cheese and black beans on one tortilla on my griddle. Threw on the chopped chicken, slapped another tortilla on top. And waited. Then I tried to flip it. This wasn't as disastrous as I had imagined, but it wasn't totally clean either.

The result, a totally yummy and quick lunch! Not too bad for a lazy Saturday.

Obamamuffins

In honor of the changes slated to occur tomorrow morning I've made Obamamuffins!  We're having a viewing party at school, and since I'm semi-famous for my "Yes we cake", I needed to prepare something! I present to you, my own special recipe, however the idea was a joint effort (thanks Mel!)

We Want Change Muffins*

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup oil

3 tablespoons vanilla

2 cups grated zucchini

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

8 ounces crushed pineapple

Topping:

1/3 cup flour

3 tbsp butter, melted

4 tbsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease muffin tins.  Beat eggs until fluffy, add sugar, oil, and vanilla.  Blend well.  Add zucchini.  Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Add to batter and mix well.  Stir in pineapple.  Pour into muffin tins, about half to three-quarters full.  For topping, combine all ingredients in a bowl and sprinkle over the top.  Bake about 20 minutes, and brace yourself for a brand new day!

*admittedly, the concept here is a little more discrete than the half chocolate, half vanilla Obama cake I made, so here's the hidden meaning.  The pineapple is a nod to the Hawaiian background, and the zucchini-pineapple flavor is an attempt to make a muffin that perhaps no one has had before, bringing a new flavor to fix the old problems, pushing the muffin-flavor envelope, if you will.  I'm hopeful they will make breakfast a more pleasant experience.

Healthy-ish

I found an interesting book at the library about a week ago. In hopes of eating healthier (and pretty much cutting all processed sugar out of my diet -- day six of that, baby!) I checked it out. Well the book itself is no good, so I won't give you the title. It did however have an intriguing recipe for banana oat muffins that called for no flour and no sugar. I happened to have all of the ingredients (well, except for the blueberries, but I used raisins instead. . . I know, a strange substitute, but hear me out) and they were good! They were naturally sweetened by the bananas, and for twelve muffins, they only had two tablespoons of oil, two eggs, and lots of GOOD stuff. I decided to make them again, and this time make a few changes. I didn't have any more over-ripe bananas, but I did have applesauce. I also ran out of raisins (and still didn't have blueberries. . . who buys blueberries in January in New England?!) but I had my new favorite dried fruit, dates. Well anyway, to make a long story short, they were BETTER than the original version. . . and I wanted to share. Here's what I like to call. . . Applesauce Oat Muffins. Original, no?

2 c. oat bran
1/4 c. old-fashioned rolled oats
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon -- the original recipe called for 1/4 tsp., and for the applesauce version I used 1/2 but still couldn't taste it that much. . .
dash of ground nutmeg
1 c. unsweetened applesauce (or naturally sweetened would be yummy too)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 c. vanilla soy milk -- the original recipe called for plain soy milk and 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbs. olive oil -- the original recipe called for EVOO (haha, I couldn't resist) but I thought that would be GROSS if you could taste it
1/2 c. chopped nuts (I used pecans both times)
1 c. dried fruit (raisins or dates)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Coat 12 muffin cups with cooking spray or use baking cups. In a large bowl, combine oat bran, rolled oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In a small bowl, beat together applesauce, eggs, milk, and oil. Stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients until just blended (though it probably doesn't matter if you over-beat here since there isn't any flour, right? Maybe consult with Alton Brown on that). Fold in the nuts and dried fruit. Bake 18-23 minutes (for me it was no more than 18 both times) or until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm or cold.

That was this morning. Later on, I was hungry for something a little more lunch-ish or dinner-ish (it was 3pm?) -- AKA "linner," right Michelle? I had bought stuff to make pizza from Trader Joe's so that's what I did. I'm a big fan of their light shredded cheese blends. The one I used for this pizza was with mozzarella, cheddar, and montery jack I believe. YUM! I didn't take a picture of the finished product, but I thought that what happened during the baking process was a little more amusing. . .

Smashed potatoes anyone?

I was home yesterday because of the weather, so of course I put myself to work in my favorite place: the kitchen! I know we've talked about this before, but it seems like none of us BILF contributors really cook much these days. Well yesterday must've been somewhat inspiring because I made vegetable and bean soup, flour-less and sugar-less banana oat muffins (they're not bad!), and smashed potatoes with peas. Scott liked the smashed potatoes the most, so here's how I made them. . .

I had maybe five small to medium-sized potatoes. I peeled them up, chopped them, and boiled them in salted water until they were ALMOST done. At this point, I added a bunch of frozen peas to the water. A few minutes later, I drained it all, and added it back to the pot they were originally in. I added some sour cream (maybe 1/3 cup?), some left-over shredded cheese (also, maybe 1/3 cup. . . a mix of cheddar, jack, and mozzarella I believe), and lots of salt and pepper. That's right, no milk or butter. They were good! I imagine they'd be a great side dish, but for us, it was dinner (along with a salad).

How easy was that?

Yo Fitzo Fitzo! is totally broccoli worthy

And here's another BifL first - a guest submission, although I suppose she didn't know she was submitting it when she sent it to me!

My friend Maureen has a now one-year-old son, Fitz, and for his birthday she made him this wonderful Yo Gabba Gabba! cupcake cake in the shape of Muno.  She seemed to think it was unworthy of this blog, but I beg to differ.  This cake is awesome, Fitz is one lucky little guy!  Thanks for sharing, Reen - we at BifL love your Muno creation.

ring in the New Year right!

A Broccoli is for Lover's first - we cooked together!  Melanie and I decided to co-host a New Year's party, and what a party it was.  We made food galore, and the drinks were flowing, and at midnight we broke out our surprise New Year's cake.  From my standpoint, this was one of the most fun parties I've ever hosted; planning and prepping with Mel was totally fun, and super easy.  And, I'd say we pulled off a smashing success.  Here's to many more in 2009!

Bonjour. I made a broccoli tart. Doesn't it look good?

But honestly? Not so great tasting. I like to make tarts (I make the dough, too, haters), but I probably won't make one again with broccoli. At least the leftovers make for a good breakfast when you're sick of the usual fare.